Do Hobbits Have Big Feet?
The answer to this question of hobbit foot size may not be what you expect. It's a topic I want to write about because, from time to time, I hear from viewers of my work wanting to know why my portrayals of hobbits don't include oversized feet. Feet matter so much in J.R.R. Tolkien's writings, from goblin feet poetry, to the shimmering feet of the elves, to the furry feet of the Little Folk. It's a subject well worth considering if we hope to see in our own minds what the Professor saw in his.
Where does the idea of huge hobbit feet come from?
My best guess is that many of the questions I have personally received stem from fans who are more familiar with Mr. Jackson's films (for which very large prop feet were developed) than with Professor Tolkien's writings, but as I've suggested, the answer is complex.
For one thing, those films are definitely not the first depiction of large-footed Little Folk. The respected Brothers Hildebrandt gave their hobbits considerably larger feet than I do, and in the dear 1977 Rankin-Bass cartoon of The Hobbit, Bilbo's feet are strikingly enormous. These sources, and others, doubtless influence many artists who work to depict Middle-earth. My own preference is to consult primary sources from the pens of J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien.
What does J.R.R. Tolkien say about hobbit foot size?
We have four main textual lights to guide us in understanding the Professor's authoritative vision of the hobbits.
In the "Prologue" to The Lord of the Rings, we read that hobbit foot size varied enough during their years living as three separate groups in the Vales of Anduin to deserve description. The feet of the most numerous, most characteristic and smallest hobbits - the Harfoots - are described as "neat and nimble." Perhaps the taller Fallohides had slightly larger feet to support their extra height, but it is the broad and sturdy Stoors whose "feet and hands were larger" than those of the other kindreds. I have endeavored to faithfully capture all of the listed characteristics of the three hobbit branches in this illustration for my book, A Shire Walking-Party.
In Letter No. 25, Tolkien writes of Bilbo, "His feet, if conveniently clad and shod by nature, were as elegant as his long, clever fingers." It is difficult to imagine disproportionately huge feet being described as "elegant."
The nimbleness of hobbit feet is doubtless a major contributing factor in their fame for being able to disappear silently at need. This would be difficult to do if someone had feet the size of something like scuba-diving flippers.
In "A Long-expected Party", Odo Proudfoot puts his "large, exceptionally furry feet" up on the table. The fact that their size is worth remarking seems to categorize his feet as something special. And this is where we realize that hobbit foot size cannot be conveniently labeled with a single definition, because we not only have Mr. Proudfoot, but Gollum paddling his boat with "large feet." They are not only large, but "long", and most startlingly, "webby". Moreover, they flap when he walks, which is completely out of keeping with the nimble quietude for which hobbits are famous. Remember, Frodo hears Gollum's footsteps in The Lord of the Rings.
The role of Stoorish ancestry
So what have we here? It appears that dainty-footed hobbits are the norm, but that Stoorish ancestry may still be playing a distinguishing part in the late Third Age when it comes to feet, just as it does with beards. My best guess is that Odo Proudfoot had Stoors in his family tree.
I will note here that my long study of hobbits has suggested to me that both Frodo and Merry might also have some Stoorish heritage, not due to foot size, but because of the whole, engrossing topic of why the Bucklanders are fond of boating and water, while more characteristic hobbits mistrust these things. In fact, I lump Sam in with them, too, even though he is Shire-born, because of his cherished memory of wading in Bywater Pool. I discuss all this in further detail in A Shire Walking-Party. As you can perhaps tell, such trivia about the hobbits fascinates me.
But even Stoorish ancestry cannot explain Gollum's webbed feet. We hear of no other hobbit with frog-like extremities. I can only suppose that his anatomy altered during the near-500 years that transpired between Gollum finding the Ring and Bilbo finding Gollum. Moreover, though I can imagine Mr. Proudfoot still having small enough feet to walk undetected, Gollum is repeatedly captured.
What does J.R.R. Tolkien's own artwork show us about hobbit foot size?
We have so few cherished pictures to go on, and though several show Bilbo booted on his adventure, none depict him with large feet. Unfortunately, we have no texts (at least, none that I know of) which precisely pin down all of the ancestry of Bilbo or the Fellowship hobbits, but we do know that all of them are capable of stealthy hiding in various scenes.
A related question that is often debated within the Tolkien fandom is whether it is essential to portray the author's words accurately. That is a query for which each individual must find their own answer. Personally, I am very eager about trying to see what the Professor saw in his mind, and to depict what he wrote to the best of my ability.
In conclusion
The best conclusion I can offer is that Tolkien's vision of hobbits rests in them having (in general) small, nimble, elegant feet, but that diversity existed to the degree that large feet were worth remarking on. I believe this variance is most easily explained by the presence of Stoorish ancestry in the late Third Age.
The degree to which larger feet impeded stealth can only be guessed at. But, the sciences would suggest that bizarrely large feet would have made hobbits clumsy and easy prey, and would not have contributed to their survival from the Elder Days down to the 20th century.
Just recently, Alan Sisto and Dr. Sara Brown of The Prancing Pony Podcast had a very good discussion of what the hobbits must have gone through during the upheavals of The Silmarillion. I personally cannot imagine hobbits flapping about on immense, loud feet, and remaining unnoticed by Big Folk for thousands of years.
I believe the primary sources are filled with useful adjectives and facts to help us imagine and portray hobbit foot size credibly. I believe these kinds of details meant a great deal to Professor Tolkien. He went to such lengths to describe so many aspects of hobbit-kind, from the colors they loved to wear to their "fruity" laughter. I think if he had meant us to envision hobbits as a famously large-footed species, he would have told us so. What do you think?
